Rice Owls' balanced scoring stomps Southern Miss

Posted: January 22, 2012 -- 7:24 p.m. CST

HOUSTON, TX (Tudor Fieldhouse) -- The Rice Owls stomp the Southern Miss Lady Eagles 72-43 Sunday afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 485 fans.

Fourteen Owls played in the game and nine of them scored. Owls' senior wing Brianna Hypolite scored a game-high 14 points. Owls sophomore post Jessica Kuster added 14 points.

"I thought, for the most part, we were pretty solid - especially defensively," said Rice head coach Greg Williams after the game. "I really liked our balanced scoring. We haven't had that in a while."

The Owls (9-10 overall, 3-3 in Conference USA) forced the Lady Eagles (6-13, 0-6)to turn the ball over 26 times in the game. In addition to the forced turnovers, the Owls dominated the Lady Eagles on the glass.

"We gave up one offensive rebound in 40 minutes," Coach Williams commented. "That's about as close to perfection as you can get."

Hypolite made two free throws four minutes into the game to give the Owls the lead for good. The Owls erased a 6-5 deficit with a 16-0 run which spanned nearly 10 minutes.

Jessica Kuster knocked down a jumper to give the Owls a 30-12 lead at the 4:32 mark of the first half; but, the Owls' offense went into the freezer which enabled Southern Miss to score the final nine points of the half for a 30-21 Owls' halftime lead.

Southern Miss guard Jamierra Faulkner scored the first two points of the second half; however, Hypolite converted a three-point play to begin an 18-3 run which gave the Owls a 22 point lead (48-26) and blew the game wide open.

"I think it (the Owls' team defense) was really good today," Hypolite said after the game. "Obviously. Going back to last week, we were frustrated with how played last week at Tulsa (69-42 loss). We were frustrated with the outcome against UCF (65-63 loss in overtime). Our defensive efforts fell short both games; so, we were really focused today to follow our defensive assignments and making sure we were all on the same page."

Owls senior guard Amenemope McKinney provided a spark of energy off the bench with three steals, four rebounds, and nine points in 20 minutes.

"I just tried to play as energetic as possible," McKinney said. "I didn't want to give up anything easy; so, I put my hands up and put my hands on the ball."

Coach Williams credited McKinney for her solid performance.

"Pepe (McKinney) was great. She was solid. I made a conscience effort to give her more minutes and not just at the one (point guard) but also the two (shooting guard)."

The Owls' 3-3 conference record is the epitome of inconsistency. Jessica Kuster believes the team's game efforts are indicative of the efforts in practice.

"Pretty much exactly how we've practiced is how we've been playing so far this year," Kuster admitted candidly. "I know that's a cliché'; but, it's been true. Before Tulsa, we had two horrible, horrible practices; and, then we played atrocious. Then, before we played UCF, I know we lost; but, we played well. Now, before Southern Miss , we had two solid practices and everybody has been focused.

"I really think people aren't coming in mentally prepared for practice. I think we're getting too content. We get really excited when we have a good game; and, some of us are like 'We're pretty good; so, we' don't have to try that hard in practice.' But, we're not good enough that we can't try hard in practice and still beat teams."

Based on Sunday's 29 point victory, the Owls need to work hard in practice more often.